Premier

The vision of the Western Cape Government (WCG) is: "An open, opportunity society for all." This is a society in which everyone has the chance and the means to use opportunities in life, and where everyone takes responsibility for using those opportunities. This vision is rooted in the values of the South African Constitution, and its primary focus is on reducing poverty.

Furthermore, the WCG’s 2040 vision of ‘a highly skilled, innovation-driven, resource-efficient, connected, high opportunity society for all’ prioritises creating opportunities for growth and jobs as one of its key goals.

At the core of the WCG’s vision is the understanding that no government can, by itself, guarantee a better life. Progress can only be realised as the product of partnerships between government, citizens, civil society and business. Each has a role and specific responsibilities. As such, the WCG adopted the slogan "Better Together" to capture and convey its message to the public.

The approach of the WCG is that the role of the state is to create an environment for investment and economic growth, so that people can find jobs or create opportunities for employment. This is based on the logic that the only sustainable way to reduce poverty is by creating opportunities for growth and jobs.

The WCG’s view of poverty is that it is a deficiency in an individual’s socio-economic capabilities, culminating in a state of multiple deprivations. Manifestations include poverty in income, lack of access to basic services, lack of access to assets and, limited social networks or social capital among the poor. This approach allows the WCG to engage with the complexity of poverty, and responses required to address limited capabilities and deprivations.

During the previous term of office the WCG embarked on a number of policies, strategies, programmes and projects to reduce the poverty and inequality gap in the province.  These interventions – which are continuing over the next five years - focus on job creation, small business support and access to basic services to poor people.

 

1. Job creation

 

Since Q3: 2009, there are 392 000 more jobs in the Western Cape. This accounts for almost 20 per cent of the total jobs created in South Africa between Q3: 2009 and Q3: 2014.  The expanded unemployment in the Western Cape is also the lowest in the country at 25.5% (Q3: 2014), with the national average reported as 35.8%.

The WCG has embarked on a new economic growth and job-creation strategy called Project Khulisa, (Khulisa means ‘to grow’ in isiXhosa). The WCG will be focusing its efforts on a few high-potential priorities which will be given in-depth focus over the next five years – comprising additional resources, the allocation of talent to support implementation, high level leadership attention and ongoing monitoring, evaluation and course-correction. These include:

 

• Tourism

 

Tourism is a major contributor to economic value and employment in the Western Cape. It directly contributes R17 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) and accounts for 204,000 formal jobs in the province. Under a high growth scenario (which would entail the Western Cape matching the growth of successful tourism regions elsewhere in the world), the sector’s GVA contribution could increase by 65%, to R28 billion in 2019, and it could add a further 120,000 formal jobs over the same period.

 

• Grow the economy and create jobs through Agri-processing

 

Agri-processing is already a large contributor to the economy and has the potential to be significantly scaled up. It directly contributes R12 billion in GVA, and accounts for 79,000 formal jobs in the province. Under a high growth scenario, the sector’s GVA contribution could increase by 126%, to R26 billion in 2019. In addition, the sector could add a further 100,000 formal jobs over the same period.

 

• Grow the economy and create jobs through Oil & Gas (Rig Repair)

 

The oil and gas (rig repair) sector offers major growth potential, even outside of exploration. In midstream services alone, the sector currently directly accounts for 35,000 formal jobs in the province. Under a high growth scenario, it could add a further 60,000 formal jobs by 2019. 

 

• Support to other economic growth sectors

 

The WCG will continue with its programmes to provide support through Wesgro and the sector Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to additional high growth economic sectors in the province, such as Business Process Outsourcing and Filmmaking (amongst others). Furthermore, the WCG will continue its focus on exploring and growing new markets, especially in Asia and Africa, while maintaining our existing relationships with our traditional markets. The WCG will continue to prioritise broad-based black economic empowerment initiatives aimed at increasing market access for black smallholder and commercial farmers.

 

• • Expanded Public Works Programme

 

The WCG will continue to create work opportunities for unemployed youth through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).  The administration successfully trained and placed a number of youth via the Youth Work Safety Programme funded through the EPWP.  Some of the EPWP initiatives that will receive attention over the next five years include:

• Skills development for the youth in arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors including in the After School programmes.
• Employing youth in the field of Community Safety, and various partnerships with municipalities and Central Improvement Districts (CIDs).
• Employing people in the infrastructure sector to assist in rehabilitating roads, repairing flood damage, conducting routine road maintenance, as well as resurfacing and building maintenance programmes.
• Clearing alien vegetation, river erosion protection and food for waste.
• EPWP opportunities linked to feeding programmes for children and youth.

 

2. Support to Small and Medium Enterprises

 

The WCG has recognised small and medium enterprises (SMME) as key partners to address the poverty, inequality and unemployment challenges in the province. To this end the WCG has put in place various initiatives to support the establishment, growth and development of small and medium enterprises. These include assisting SMMEs to access finance, business development support, reducing red tape, etc.

 

3. Support to Small and Emerging Farmers

 

The WCG provides technical support to subsistence, smallholder and emerging farmers on an ongoing basis.  The WCG will continue to implement the ‘commodity approach’ towards farmer support. Key to this approach is the creation of partnerships between government and private sector at the institutional level to draw on the commodity experts who contribute to improved planning and delivery of selected agricultural enterprises. Furthermore, this partnership seeks to ensure that smallholder farmers gain access to mentorship support from the commercial famers and also access to existing marketing networks.  Smallholder and emerging farmers are supported with marketing advice, product development, education and training and infrastructure.

The WCG also provides free veterinary and clinical services to small scale livestock producers, as well as assistance with the control and eradication of controlled diseases. These interventions ensure that farmers do not incur losses through preventable disease conditions.

Since 2009, a total of 275 smallholder farmers were supported in fruit, animal (beef, piggery, poultry and aquaculture), sheep and wool, vegetables, grain and seed production, as well as table grapes and wine grapes.

 

4. Skills Development and Youth Empowerment

 

The WCG is involved in a number of skills development initiatives aimed at responding to the mismatch between skills demand and skills supply. The urgency and need for skills development is emphasised as one of the key strategies to unlocking economic growth within the Province and addressing high levels of structural unemployment. The WCG targets skills development through the following:

• The Premier Advancement of Youth Programme to provide internship opportunities to young people after they passed matric in order for them to gain experience in the workplace.
• The Work and Skills Programme to support the creation of work opportunities for young people.
• The Artisan Development Programme aims to place learners from FET Colleges in apprenticeships to gain practical industry knowledge.
• The Masakh’iSizwe training and placement programme for internal and external students to address skills shortage in the transport and building construction sectors.
• Development of an agriculture technical and agro-processing skills plan.

 

5. Improve Food Security of the Poor

 

Food insecurity of poor households is a major challenge in South Africa. The WCG is committed to improve the food and nutritional security of all people living in the Province, and is providing support to community and school-based food gardens. A process is also underway to develop a comprehensive Household Food Security Strategy by the end of the 2015/16 financial year.

 

6. Improve the Living Conditions of the Poor

 

In an effort to close the gap between the wealthy and the poor, the WCG has placed a significant emphasis on providing access to social resources for poorer communities through the development and implementation of strategies, projects and programmes in areas of Education, Health, Human Settlements, Social Services, Basic Services and Human Rights.

 

• Basic Services

The WCG is implementing an Access to Basic Services (ABS) Programme aimed at providing access to energy (electricity), clean piped water, refuse removal and proper sanitation to residents living in informal settlements outside the City on a shared basis. All municipalities are currently providing water free of charge to approximately 144 000 informal households, over 46 000 toilets and 10 000 communal taps in informal settlements.

 

• Housing Opportunities

 

The WCG continues to roll out the Individual Housing Subsidy Programme, targeting low-income households; the People’s Housing Process (PHP) programme focuses on households that actively contribute towards the building of their own homes; the Community Residential Units Programme (CRU), to facilitate the provision of secure, stable rental housing for persons earning between R800 and R3500; and the Social Housing Programme, persons earning between R1500 and R7500.

The WCG has set itself the following provincial targets for the next five years:

• Provide 66 000 Breaking New Ground (BNG) units;
• Provide 11 000 gap housing units;
• Upgrade and enhance 550 People’s Housing Process (PHP) opportunities per annum;
• Accelerate informal settlement upgrade provision with basic services, which will be the major focus area;
• Eradicate the title deed backlog by transferring title deeds to home owners; and
• Intensify and institutionalise partnerships with civil society, the private sector, parastatals, and other spheres of government.

 

• Social Services
  • The Western Cape Government partners with SASSA to identify and assess candidates qualifying for social grants.
  • Approximately R10 billion is being injected into the Western Cape economy through the provision of social grants.

 

• • Provide Internet Access to Communities

 

The WCG has signed a strategic agreement with Neotel to provide broadband services to approximately 2 000 government sites, including schools, libraries and health facilities, over the next two to three years. By May 2016, all sites are planned to be connected with minimum speeds of 10Mbps under this agreement. By August 2018, most sites should be connected by fibre optic cables with 90% of sites enjoying 100Mbps speeds and 10% enjoying 1Gbps speeds.

Neotel has committed to funding the infrastructure rollout of 384 Wi-Fi hotspots, using Western Cape Government buildings, which will cover almost every ward in the province. The WCG will be subsidizing the free portion of citizens' internet access. These Wi-Fi Hotspots will be rolled-out over a period of four years, as Neotel builds the fibre network. Every citizen will have the opportunity to access "limited free" internet at the Wi-Fi hotspots across the province.

 

• Providing Social Infrastructure to All Communities

 

The WCG made good progress in the accelerated provision of social and economic infrastructure in the Province:

• Ten (10) new and/or refurbished health facilities were successfully delivered during 2013/14 financial year, and 85 maintenance projects achieved completion. The projects included new and upgraded emergency centres as well as new wards at hospitals across all districts.
• Twenty one (21) new and/or refurbished schools were completed during the last financial year.
• One hundred and thirty seven (137) scheduled and 26 ad-hoc maintenance projects were completed, whilst 180 additional projects, resulting from emergency Programme requests, were executed concurrently.
• The planning and design of 19 new and replacement schools has commenced.
• The planning of 134 maintenance projects has commenced.
• The planning of 51 Grade R classrooms was completed.

 

An analysis of the WCG budget and expenditure has shown that almost 80% of spending of the service delivery departments goes directly to the poor. In 2012 a calculation showed an amount of R24,7 billion was spent on services for the poor, particularly health services and education. This is a redistribution of taxes paid by the wealthier citizens to the poorer residents of our province.

 

The WCG is currently going through an intensive planning process to design new programmes and projects, as part of the new Provincial Strategic Plan: 2014-2019, to deliver on its pledge to reduce the gap between the rich and poor in the Province. These new initiatives will be announced in the Premier’s State of the Province Address in February.